Former Rangers player Alex Rae has credited Brendan Rodgers for the improvement in Celtic man James Forrest.
The Hoops winger notched his seventh goal in nine matches in the weekend win over Hamilton. His early finish, following a good cross from new recruit Mohamed Elyounoussi, was a goal that has become the norm for Forrest. However, that hasn’t always been the case.
And former midfielder Rae reckons Brendan Rodgers has a lot to do with Forrest’s new instincts, after working with the 28-year-old during his time at the club.
“You have to give credit to Brendan Rodgers because he developed him,” Rae told the Social club.
“He encouraged him.
“You look at Scott Sinclair over the last few years, coming in off the left-hand side.
“It’s a feature of Celtic’s play and it’s taken James Forrest to a different level.”
Forrest has improved even since Rodgers left
Rae’s comments are easily backed up by a simple look at Forrest’s stats. The Scotland international netted 30 goals in his six seasons at Celtic, prior to Rodgers’ arrival. The Northern Irishman then helped him to notch a further 42 in his three seasons in charge.
That meant that Forrest’s average goal tally per season rose from five to 14 in the time before, to during Rodgers.
However, the Leicester boss shouldn’t take all of the credit for Forrest’s upward trajectory. The winger has been responsible for most of his good fortune, getting himself into areas he could only have dreamed off in prior seasons.
With seven goals already to his name this season, Forrest is well on track to beat his record goal haul of 17 (which he bagged in each of the last two seasons). You would bank on him notching 20 goals this term. That would be a good total for a forward, so to do it from the wing would be no mean feat.
Rodgers deserves credit for Forrest’s improvement, but the winger has even improved since the Northern Irishman departed. That says a lot about his mindset at the moment.
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